Greg Laurie - What Heaven Will Be Like? (03/24/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares from Revelation 4 what heaven looks like, focusing on the open door after the church age, the rapture where believers are caught up, and the glorious throne scene with worship—reminding us to be ready since heaven is only for those who trust Christ, and we get there by death or rapture.
The Open Door to Heaven
Let's go to Revelation chapter 4. Revelation 4. And the title of my message is, "What Heaven Will Be Like". The story is told of Billy Graham who was visiting the city to hold one of his crusades. And so Billy wrote a letter and he wanted to send it to a friend, but he didn't know where the local post office was, so he was walking around town looking and saw a boy standing on a street corner. And he went up to him and said, "I was wondering if you could tell me where the post office is." Or the way Billy might have said it is, "I was wondering if you'd tell me where the post office is." And the young man said, "Well it's right over there, sir." And Billy thanked him and thought it would be a good opportunity to invite this young man to the crusade. And he said, "I hope you'll come to the stadium tonight. And I'll tell you how you can find your way to heaven." And the little boy looked at him for a moment and said, "How would you know the way to heaven? You don't even know the way to the post office." I don't know if that story is true or not. But it makes a point. One day, perhaps sooner than we expected, we are going to be in heaven.
Heaven: Not for Everyone by Default
Now when I say that I am addressing my remarks to Christians. Heaven is not the default destination of the non-believer. It is only the hope of the person who has put their faith in Christ. But if you are a Christian you will go to heaven and you are going to get there in one of two ways. Death or the rapture. And I want to talk about the rapture a little bit in this message because that is introduced to us here in Revelation chapter 4. We have the church being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Now Revelation 3 ended with a closed door. And as we come to Revelation 4 it begins with an open door. In Revelation 3 Jesus was outside of the church of Laodicea trying to get in. But in Revelation 4 a door is open to heaven. So in effect if we will open the door of our hearts to Christ now. He will open up the door to heaven for us then.
This is a major shift in the book of Revelation that divides into three sections. We are now in the third section. We go from the focus being on the church to what is ahead. And we are going to look at the great tribulation period that will unfold on the earth. It is worth noting that the church is not mentioned in Revelation 4-19. The reason for that is we are in heaven during the tribulation.
John's Vision Begins: The Call "Come Up Here"
So let's read a couple of verses to start. Revelation 4:1: After these things I looked, and behold a door was standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, "Come up here, and I will show you things that must take place after this." Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
So John begins his words in verse 1 "after these things" are from the Greek "meta tauta." Here is one of the unique things about the book of Revelation. It comes with its own outline that is found in Revelation 1:19. Where God told John to write the things that you have seen, the things which are, and the things that will take place after this. So section 1 is the things you have seen. And that is what John dealt with in Revelation chapter 1. Where he saw the resurrected and glorified Jesus with all power in heaven and on earth. And also the revealed Jesus who is in complete control of everything that is to come. The things that you have seen.
Then there were the things that are. And that is what we looked at in Revelation 2-3. Where we looked at the message of Jesus to the seven churches. And sort of did a fly over of church history. Now we are in section 3. The things that will take place after these things. And what are those things? After the things of the church.
The Trumpet Sound and the Rapture Connection
So it begins with the sound as of a trumpet. Verse 1. I heard a voice like a trumpet speaking with me saying, "Come up here and I will show you things that will take place after this." After what? After the church has finished its work on earth. Now where have we heard about a trumpet before? Well over in 1 Thessalonians 4. We read Paul writing, "The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first."
So that brings us to the topic of the rapture. Whenever you raise this subject there is a lot of questions. So let's take a little time and really explain what the rapture is.
Understanding the Rapture Clearly
Number one. What is the rapture? Mark Hitchcock in his excellent book, Could the Rapture Happen Today, defined it in this way. And I quote, "The rapture of the church is that future event when Jesus Christ will descend from heaven to resurrect the bodies of departed believers and to transform and translate the bodies of living believers immediately into his glorious presence in a moment of time, and then escort them to heaven to live with him forever." End quote.
But you might ask, well why isn't the word rapture in the Bible? Some of the critics of this teaching will say, well you don't find the word rapture in the Bible. Well wait a second. Depends what kind of Bible you have. If you have a Latin translation you do have the word rapturus that we get our English word rapture from. But as I will point out in a few moments, the word rapturus comes from the Greek word harpazo that is mentioned many times in Scripture.
And if you are going to say, because I can't find the word in the Bible it must not be biblical, then you are going to have to throw out the Trinity. Because you are not going to find the word Trinity in the Bible. But is the teaching of the triune God found in the pages of Scripture? Of course it is. But for that matter you have to stop using the word Bible because the word Bible is not in the Bible. But you see the event is the event that we call the rapture.
Key Scriptures Describing the Rapture
And the most well known verse is 1 Thessalonians 4 that I already started to quote. Let me quote it again. "The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout. Then we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up." There is that word harpazo. "Caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will always be with the Lord." The word harpazo is used thirteen times in the New Testament. It means to take forcibly, to snatch, or to catch up. So that is what the rapture is.
Why is there a rapture? Well, in the context of 1 Thessalonians 4 we have to understand who he was addressing. Paul was talking to the believers in Thessalonica that were concerned about loved ones that had already died. They were thinking, well if they have died will they miss the rapture? And there was a sense of despair and concern over that. So to calm their hysteria and bring them perspective, Paul tells them about the rapture.
In fact, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 he says, "I don't want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have died, so that you will not grieve as those who have no hope." Basically saying, guys, I don't want you to panic about this. I don't want you to worry about this. I don't want you to grieve as though there is no hope. You will see your loved ones again.
Why Bible Prophecy and the Rapture Matter
So this raises the issue of why it is important to study Bible prophecy and end time events. So we will be informed. Some people say, well you know it doesn't really matter if you believe the rapture or no rapture or you think it is the same as the second coming. You know what? No. It matters a lot what you believe about these things. And that is why Paul is saying, I don't want you to be uninformed about it.
And don't forget to the point that there is a special blessing promised to the person that hears and keeps the words of this book. And I am talking specifically about the book of Revelation. So it is important to study Bible prophecy.
Then after he makes his statement about the rapture, Paul then says in verse 18 of 1 Thessalonians 4, "therefore comfort one another with these words." Put it all together. Guys, I don't want you to be uninformed. The Lord is going to come catch up all of us into heaven. But our loved ones, they have gone before us. But we will be reunited with them. We will see them again. So comfort one another with these words.
Imagine this. You are going to be going about your business one day, one night, when suddenly, in a moment that is so rapid, you can't even measure it in human time. You will be caught up in God's presence. And you will be reunited with your loved ones. But best of all, you will be face to face with Jesus Himself.
Other Biblical References to the Rapture
Now is this event that we call the rapture spoken of elsewhere in Scripture? The answer is absolutely. The Lord Himself spoke of it. In John 14, Jesus said "In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself." Or literally take you by force "that where I am you may be also."
Then Paul again writes of it in 1 Corinthians 15:51. He says, "I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed." It is that fast, it is that quick, caught up into God's presence to meet the Lord.
And then of course Jesus said in Matthew 24, "the two will be in a field. One will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at a mill. One will be taken and the other left."
Biblical Examples of Being "Caught Up"
Now someone might say, well there is no example in scripture where a person was suddenly caught up into heaven. Actually that is not true. There is a number of examples. One that comes to mind is Enoch. You remember in the book of Genesis. He was caught up suddenly to heaven. Hebrews 11:5 says, "it was by faith Enoch was taken to heaven without dying." Suddenly he disappeared because God took him. But before he was taken up he was approved as being pleasing to God. We are told in Genesis 5:24 that "Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him."
So apparently Enoch and the Lord would take walks together quite frequently. And one day the Lord may have said, "you know Enoch today we are a little closer to my house than yours. Why don't you come home with me?" So Enoch woke up on one shore and went to bed on another. He went right into God's presence. Caught up to meet the Lord.
Then there is the story of Elijah the wonder working prophet who did not die a natural death but he was caught up suddenly to heaven. 2 Kings tells us that Elijah and Elisha, who was to carry his ministry on, were walking together and talking. When suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between them, separating them. And Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.
New Testament Examples Including Philip and Jesus
So there is two examples from the Bible of men that were suddenly caught up to heaven. But what about the New Testament? Is there a mention of the rapture there? Apart from the passages you quoted. How about the story of Philip? He was raptured as well. However in his case his rapture was more horizontal than vertical. Remember his story? He preached the gospel to a man from Ethiopia. The man requested to be baptized and Philip baptized him. And then we read in Acts 8:39, "when they came out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away" and the eunuch never saw him again. But he went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile Philip found himself north at the city of Azotus and he preached the gospel there. Now by the way the word that is used there to describe Philip being caught away is harpazo. So he wasn't raptured up. He was raptured sideways. Azotus is about thirty miles away from where he was.
But then was not the Lord himself in effect raptured into heaven? After Jesus finished his public ministry and died on the cross for the sin of the world and rose again from the dead he was caught up to heaven. And by the way that word harpazo is used there as well in Acts 1:9. It says, "after he said these things he gave them the great commission. He was taken up into the sky while they were watching and he disappeared into a cloud." And as they were straining their eyes to see him two white robed men suddenly stood there among them and said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday just as you saw him go up he will return."
When Will the Rapture Happen?
Question number three. When is the rapture? I'm going to reveal the answer. If you miss everything else I say. Don't miss this. When is the rapture? I don't know. Nor does anyone else. And anyone who says they know is wrong. It wasn't that long ago this fellow came along. What was his name? Harold Camping who predicted the date of the return of Christ. And this is not the first time he had done it. He had done it a number of years before. That was proved wrong. Then he did it again. That was proved wrong. Then he adjusted his date. That too was proved wrong. And finally he said, "Well I was wrong the whole time." Duh.
And so will any other person who comes along with a date. Because no one knows the day or the hour of the return of Jesus Christ. So now let me revisit that question. When is the rapture? No one knows the day or the hour. However, it can happen at any time. As far as I am concerned it can happen today. It can happen tonight. And it will happen in a moment that is so rapid you can't even measure it in human time.
1 Corinthians 15:51 says, "I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep. We will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible. And we will be changed." Now it has been said that the twinkling of an eye is about one thousandth of a second. So that is faster than the blinking of an eye. It is just so quick you can't even measure it. It is from the Greek word atomos. Where we get our word atom from. And the idea that is being conveyed is that it is something that cannot be divided. You just leave one time frame. You enter into another.
The Sequence: Dead Rise First, Then the Living
Now listen to this. When Christ returns for us in the rapture. First up are those that have gone before us. Now you say, I am confused. What happens to a person when they die if they are a Christian? They go to heaven. Okay. Well if they are in heaven, how is it that they go up first? Their bodies will be resurrected. So what kind of body are they in heaven? What kind of body are they in right now as they are in heaven? We don't know the answer to that. Is there an intermediate body in between now and in the new glorified body? We don't know the answer. But we know that there is a bodily resurrection.
Verse Thessalonians 4. The dead in Christ will rise first. We which are alive and remaining will be caught up together with them. So you might ask, well great. Does that mean that people are going to literally burst out of their graves? Perhaps. It would seem to be implied in Scripture. How this will happen technically I am not sure. But there is a prototype for this in Scripture as well. Remember after Christ died on the cross, there was a lot of supernatural phenomena, including an earthquake. And we read in Matthew 27:51-53. The rocks split apart and the tombs opened. And listen to this. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. After Jesus' resurrection they left the cemetery. They walked into the holy city of Jerusalem and appeared to many people. So there is going to be some kind of bodily resurrection. The Bible teaches that.
Rapture vs. Second Coming: Key Differences
Now sometimes there is confusion between the rapture and the second coming. Some people lump it together as one event. But according to Scripture they are two separate events. Both can be described as the Lord's return. But the difference is in the rapture he comes in the air. In the second coming he returns to the earth. In the rapture he comes for his church. In the second coming he returns with his church. In the rapture it is rapid. It is quick. He comes like a thief in the night. In the second coming every eye will see him. In the rapture he comes before judgment. In the second coming he returns with judgment.
So let's think about John the Apostle. Here he is on the island of Patmos. Banished. Alone. Writing the words of the revelation. Being given to him by God. He has just wrote these words of Jesus to the church of Laodicea. "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door I will come in and sup with him. And to him that overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I overcame and sat down with my father on his throne."
As he is writing these words suddenly a door is opened to John and he is hurtled into the presence of God.
The Heavenly Throne Room Vision
Let's read about it now in Revelation 4:2. Immediately John writes, "I was in the Spirit, and behold a throne was set in heaven. And One sat on the throne, and He that sat there was like a jasper and sardius stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. And around the throne were twenty-four elders. And on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes. They had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal. In the midst of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in the front and back. The first living creature was like a lion. The second living creature like a calf. The third living creature had a face like a man. And the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures each had six wings and were full of eyes around and within. And they don't rest day or night saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and is to come.'"
Whenever the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and lives forever and ever. The twenty-four elders fell down before Him who sits on the throne and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. And they cast their crowns before the throne saying, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created."
Wow. It's mind blowing, isn't it?
Trying to Describe the Indescribable
So some of you are saying, "Explain this to me, Greg." Not so easy. I can't explain a lot of it. We are seeing a heavenly scene. John is in the third heaven. According to the Bible there are three heavens. Paul writes about that in 2 Corinthians 12. "I was caught up into the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don't know. Only God knows. But I do know that I was caught up in the paradise and heard things so astounding it cannot be told."
So what are the three heavens? Well heaven number one is the sky and the atmosphere and the clouds. When you walk out of church today and you look up in the sky. That is the first heaven, if you will. Then the second heaven, that would be everything in the cosmos. Basically those things above the earth's atmosphere. The moon, the sun, the stars, the planets, the galaxies, and so forth. But the third heaven, in contrast, is the dwelling place of God Himself.
I read an article in the paper this week about a private foundation of astronomers and former astronauts that are building a space telescope that will orbit the sun and track the heavenly bodies and can end life on earth. This will go into deep space. One of the astronauts was quoted to say, "in the first three weeks of operation it will find more asteroids than we have found in the last two hundred years." That is fascinating. A high powered orbiting telescope in deep space. But guess what they won't find? The third heaven.
I remember reading about a Russian astronaut, an atheist who was in his craft and he looked through the window and said, "I didn't see God up there." Yeah. Well you know why? Because you can't see into the third heaven.
What John Saw in Heaven
Now we often think the third heaven is distant beyond the galaxies and maybe one day we can develop a telescope and we will see it. No. I think the third heaven may be closer than we realize. But whatever it is, or wherever it is, it is a dwelling place of God Himself. So John is in the third heaven.
Now what does he see? Number one. He sees the Lord seated on His throne. Verses 2 to 3. Sardius and jasper are used to describe the Lord, which interestingly were the first and last stones on the breastplate of the high priest. In Revelation 21 the jasper stone is being described as being crystal clear. So it was diamond like. The sardius stone is blood red, which is like a ruby. Notice that John says in verse 3, these things were like. He is not saying literally he saw diamonds and rubies. He is saying it was like.
Understand John is using first century Greek, which is an amazing language. But yet any language has limitations when you are describing something this amazing. It is like. It is not as a teenager speaks. You know how they love to use the word like. He is all like, "I am not going." I am like, "you are going." He is like, "I am not." I am like, "shut up." He is like, "what?" It is not that way he is saying it. He is saying it is similar to, that is the word like translated. It is similar to a radiant diamond. It is similar to a blood red ruby.
So he sees God on his throne. Number two, he sees 24 elders. Verse 4. Now who are these elders? Well they could be angelic beings. Though I tend to doubt that. Maybe they are representatives of the Old and New Covenant. Twelve patriarchs from the Old Testament. Twelve apostles from the New. Then again, the twenty-four elders may be representatives of the New Testament church who have received their crowns.
Because the word used here for elders is a word we get our English word presbytery from. Which speaks of eldership or leadership. That word is never used to describe angels, only men. And clearly crowns are promised not to angels, but to faithful followers of Jesus. The elders wore a crown from the Greek word Stephanos. And it is a word that speaks of a reward that is given for faithful service. So we can compare it to winning the gold in the Olympics. It is that kind of an idea. So it is not a crown of royalty, like you are a king or a queen. It is more a crown of reward for your faithfulness.
Crowns in Heaven: Rewards Cast Before the Throne
And we find this elsewhere in Scripture. Remember to the church of Smyrna, Jesus promised to them a crown of life because of their suffering. And then also Paul writes that if we endure temptation, God will give to us a crown of life. And then Paul also spoke in 2 Timothy 4:8. So God promises crowns to all of us who are faithful to the Lord.
I have a friend who has run a lot of triathlons. He has even been in some Iron Man events. And he has a lot of ribbons with medals. So many. I mean, it seemed like a few hundred. One time I was visiting him and I took about 30 of them and put them around my neck at once. I looked like Mr. T on a bad day, you know? And I dared him to wear them publicly. I said, "Put all of your medals on and go walk around." He goes, "I am not doing that." Because that would seem so boastful, right? Maybe I am just envious because they have never won a single medal.
So maybe we may imagine heaven that way. You know those high achievers. Those men and women that God has blessed in an extraordinary way are walking around with 300 medals or multiple crowns. And they look at you and you have your one little crown. "I have more crowns than you have." Now that is not the way it is.
Why would we even want a crown? Well, the answer is given right here in Revelation. It says that they cast their crowns, verse 10, at His feet. I love that. See, I didn't win this to boast. I didn't do this to say, "Look how much I have done." Here, Lord, is my crown. Here, Lord, is my reward. Here, Lord, is my life. I give it back over to you.
Storm Warnings from Heaven's Perspective
Also in heaven, number three, John sees ominous storm warnings. Look at verse 5. From the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. These are all symbols of judgment in Scripture. From the safety of heaven, John can see a storm brewing on earth. And that storm will be unfolding in the great tribulation period. But believers are safe in God's arms in the presence of heaven.
And didn't Jesus promise that? Remember what He said to the church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:10, "Because you have kept my command to persevere, I will keep you from the hour of trial, which will come on the whole world, to test those that dwell on the earth." So we are safe. We are not going through the tribulation period.
I was in North Carolina a number of years ago, and they have a lot of storms there. Sometimes even in the summer. Out of nowhere the clouds turn dark, and the thunder and the lightning start. And I remember once you were sitting in a hotel, they had a big porch, and there were rocking chairs. We are sitting on the rocking chair, entertained by the storm. Well why? Because we are in the safety of a hotel. Now it would be a different thing if you were out there wandering around, especially with lightning striking. So it is one thing to see a storm from a safe place. It is another thing to be in the middle of a storm. We are seeing these things from a safe place, from the vantage point of heaven.
Awareness in Heaven: Perspective on Earth
And you know here is the thing that we need to consider about heaven. When you are in heaven, you will be aware of some things that are happening on earth. Now we have two extremes on this topic. One extreme is people in heaven are sitting around in chairs, peering over the side, watching everything that we do. I don't think that is the case. But the other extreme is people in heaven are oblivious to what you are going through on earth. They are unaware of anything you are experiencing. They are too preoccupied with other things. I don't know that that is really true either.
Because it would appear from a number of passages, and we will talk about this later as we get deeper into Revelation, that people in heaven are indeed aware of things that are happening on earth. One thing we will see as we get to Revelation chapter 6 are those tribulation saints that are martyred for their faith, that are in heaven. And they are saying to God in Revelation 6:10, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth?" So they are saying, Lord, an injustice has taken place. How long till you right the wrong? And what about our fellow brothers that are still suffering there on earth?
So here are believers in heaven, aware acutely of what is happening to others on earth. And also they say, "How long, O Lord?" And this deals with the issue of the passing of time. Because sometimes it's said in heaven, you will not be aware that time is passing. But they are saying, "How long, O Lord?" So they seem to be aware of time. And I think we will be as well.
I think the big thing is, in heaven you will have perspective. You see? Because sometimes it's said, "Oh, well, if I was in heaven, and I knew something sad was happening on earth, it would make heaven miserable." Because in heaven there is no tears, right? So if something was sad, it would bring tears. Therefore, we are all going to have a collective memory wipe, like in Men in Black, where just our memories are gone. But that doesn't fit with other scripture.
I mean, would you think we are going to have a collective spiritual lobotomy? I think we will know more in heaven than we know on earth, right? We are in our glorified state. We don't know less in heaven than we know on earth. We know more. So I think we will have memories. And I think we will be aware of things, but with perspective.
It is sort of like when a child has something tragic, at least in their mind, happen. Maybe they are playing with their Barbie doll. And the head comes off. And to a child, that is the end of the world. The Barbie head came off. Oh no. And the adult looks and says, "I will just stick it back on, or better yet, buy you a new doll." You know, and so, in life we go through things, and they seem the worst case scenario in the moment. And God looking at it with perspective, seeing the big picture, knowing the end result, sees it differently. I think in heaven, we will be aware of certain things happening on earth, but from a divine perspective.
Worship and Service in Heaven
So here is John. He is seeing these magnificent, angelic creatures. He is awestruck as he looks at them. He is taking it all in. And what are we doing while this is all happening? Well, for starters, we are worshiping. Look at verse 10. The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sat on the throne and worshiped him, and lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things. And by your will they exist and were created."
One of the reasons we will engage in unbridled worship is because we will know all things. All of our questions are answered. All of our pain is removed. All of our tears are dried. So we will be worshiping.
But that is not all. Because for some people that sounds kind of boring. "Oh man, you know, the more you talk about it, Greg, heaven is sounding like a really long church service." And for some people, that is not heaven. Okay? So let me explain. Yes, we will be worshiping. We are going to do a lot more than worship. We are also going to be busy doing the Lord's work. Revelation 22:3 says, "His servants will serve Him." Revelation 7:15 says, "That we are before the throne of God, serving Him day and night."
So yes, heaven is a place of rest. But I can only rest for so long. Some people, you know, they are looking forward to retirement. "I can't wait till I retire. I have worked hard." What are you going to do? "Golf." Yeah, what else? "Fish." Then what? "Sleep." Anything else? Kind of repeat the cycle again.
Now look, I am sure you have worked hard. You have saved your money. And that is fantastic. But I don't understand a person that wants to spend their entire life in leisure activity. I think it is fine to golf and fish and surf and go out and do fun things. But then that helps me to get recharged so I can get back to work.
Now maybe you don't have to go to your job anymore. And you don't have to clock in anymore. So now you have free time. Use it for the Lord. Use it in volunteer service. Doing something good for other people. And we will talk about this more in our next message.
I have been put on this earth to glorify God. I mean really, do you like having time off perpetually? I mean for me, I rarely get a two week vacation. But when I do, it takes me seven days to unplug. It is hard. I am checking emails. Even when I don't have a phone to check, I am just picking up things and checking emails. It is hard for me to unwind. It is hard for me to relax. It takes me seven days. And then if I have seven more days, I enjoy it. And I am recharging.
I mean what is it? You are going to recreate. Right? Recreate? Recreate. You are just kind of, the pistons are firing again. You are feeling good. And my staff knows that my vacation is almost over because they are barraged with emails now of new ideas that I have. "Let's do this. Let's try that. Let's do this other thing." Well that is fine. That is what it was for. It is to help me do the job I am called to do. And we all have a job to do.
So we are going to rest for a while. Then we are going to get to work serving the Lord. Heaven will be far from boring. I guarantee that.
Closing Thoughts: Walk with God Daily
So these are some of the amazing things that John saw in glory. Let me wrap this up now with a few closing thoughts. Yes this day is soon. We will be in God's presence. So what am I supposed to do in the interim? Coming back to these people that thought they had the date of the return of Christ. I remember reading of them quitting their jobs. Some divorced their wives. I mean what are you supposed to do? Okay I believe Jesus is coming at any time. So run up that credit card man. No, no.
Here is what you are to do. You are to walk with God. Coming back to Enoch who we touched on for a moment. You remember "Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him." What does that mean to walk with God? Walking speaks of effort. It speaks of regular motion. It speaks of consistency. It doesn't say Enoch sprinted with God. Though the metaphor of running the race is used frequently in Scripture. In this instance in particular it says he walked with God.
And the Bible says many times that we are to do the same. The Bible says walk in the Spirit and he will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Scripture tells us that as we have received Jesus Christ we should so walk in Him.
Now I don't know about you but I don't like running. How many of you like to run? Raise your hand up. Wow. Not a lot of runners in this service. How many of you like to walk? You like to get out and walk. That is good. How many of you like to just sit? You just say, "Okay." At least you are honest.
So I try to get out and walk every day. I listen to a podcast. I listen to Bible teaching. But I love to get out and walk you know. And people say run. If you run you will lose more weight. And I will run for a couple of minutes. And now everything hurts. You know what I am talking about. It is just pain. I don't know what the deal is. But running does not work well for me. So I walk because I will run for I don't know three, four minutes. You know running. Feeling good. I am running. Look at me. I am running. I hate this. I oh and then I am tired. And I will sit for a while.
And that is how some people are in their Christian life. They are going to run for God. Sprint. All out. Full tilt. And they collapse. And they get up and sprint and collapse. And sprint and collapse. God would say, "How about just walking?" Just regularity. Every day. Consistently walking with me.
Enoch walked with God. And you know there is a verse over in the book of Amos chapter 3 verse 3. It says, "Shall two walk together unless they be agreed." Look if we take a walk together. Let's walk together. My problem is I walk fast. People that walk with me say, "You walk really fast." I do. And this has always been a problem with my wife. Because my wife, she doesn't walk slow. It's just she doesn't just walk as fast as I do. Then when you add heels to the equation. It's like, We're going to go somewhere and walk a lot. And she comes out in her heels. She looks really cute. But I'm like, "Oh no. You're not going to wear those. Are you?" Because like, I'm walking and she's like... you know, that video will come back to haunt me somewhere without any explanation. Okay.
So I don't get heels. I admire you girls, I guess, if you want to wear them. But I mean it's funny. Even my little granddaughters, Allie showed up the other day. She's like 19 months old. She put a little pink hat on, pink sunglasses, had a little purse on her arm, and these little plastic heels that are from one of the Princess outfits. You know, clip clop walking along. I just think, it's programmed. I'm telling you.
But the idea when you're taking a walk with someone is to walk with someone. And in this case we're walking with God. So we should not be running ahead of God, nor should we be lagging behind God. Let's walk with God. Who sets the pace? God. Not me. The Lord says, "Okay let's slow down Greg. I want to tell you something." "Okay Greg let's speed up a little bit." "Okay stay with me." That's the idea. I stay in harmony with Him.
In fact, that statement there from Amos, "Can two walk together? Unless they have agreed." It can be better translated, "Unless they have made an appointment." The Hebrew word implies a meeting at a fixed place at a fixed time. Can you imagine being late for an appointment with God? Some people are.
I have a friend, you know him, Bob Shank. Bob Shank is very prompt. Bob Shank is never late. Whenever I meet him and his wife for dinner, they are always on time. And we know that. Look, we are on our way. Let's go. We don't want to be late, because Bob Shank is always on time. You know? And you feel bad. He is there. And he shared a saying he has. He has been using it in his family for years. And it stayed with me. Bob Shank said, "You know, early is on time. On time is late. And late is never acceptable." I said, "That's good, Bob. I like that." Early is on time. On time is late. Late is never acceptable.
You know, because if you are going to meet somebody, they might get there early. So even though you are technically on time, you are in effect late. And then when you are late, that is just kind of insulting. Isn't it? Have you ever, you know, made time in your schedule to meet with someone? Maybe they even called for the meeting. So you are there waiting for them. And they come strolling in like 15 minutes late. "Oh sorry man. Traffic." You know. Okay. Yeah. But maybe you could have factored that in. Or, "Oh something came up." Or maybe they don't even offer an explanation. They just plop down. They are late. That is kind of offensive. I mean you have been sitting there waiting for them. You have things to do.
Can you imagine being late for an appointment with God? I will meet you at 7 o'clock sharp right here. Would you be early? I think you should be there early. I am here early. You wouldn't be there late. And so the idea is we have an appointment every day to keep with God. To start the day with the Word. To start the day with prayer. To commit our life to Him. To think of Him. To focus on Him. To walk in harmony with Him.
And look. If this is the day when I go to heaven, great. If it is tomorrow, fine. If it is a month from now, okay. If it is thirty years from now, that is up to God. That is not my concern. My focus, my concern is to walk with God in the interim.
Be Ready for Your Appointment with God
Listen one day. We all have an appointment with God. An appointment with life on this earth as we know it will end and will enter into eternity. You may think you know what it is, but actually you don't. Only God does. So always be ready.
And let me ask you this in closing. Let's say your appointment to meet God was today. Let's say life was going to end today. So well not me, Greg. Well how do you know? I don't know that. Someone's name is going to end up in the obituary column tomorrow. Could it be yours or mine? I don't know. And you know what? I don't even sweat that. It's like, yeah. Could be. Maybe it won't be. I'm not saying, I hope it is. But I'm not saying, oh if it is... It's just like, hey, then I'll see the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
So I think that's the way to live, you know? In peace. Do you have that peace? Or does it kind of freak you out what I just said? Because you're not really sure if you're ready to meet God. You don't really know if you would be ready to meet the Lord when the rapture comes.
Remember Jesus said, one will be taken, the other will be left. Some people will be caught up to meet the Lord, and others will be left on this earth. Who will be taken? Believers in Jesus. Who will be left? People who don't believe in Jesus. It's as simple as that.
So if you want that door open for you in heaven, you've got to open the door right here in your heart and say, "Lord I need you to come in." And if you have not done that yet, why don't you do it right now so you can know with confidence that you will be ready for the Lord's return. And if death were to knock on your door today because your appointment had come, you wouldn't have to fear it because you put your faith in Jesus.
If you haven't done that yet, do it right now as we close in prayer. Everybody bow their head with me if you would please. Father now we pray for all that are hearing this message, seeing it. I pray for any person here who is not right with you. Lord, the person who is not ready for your return, the person who has not put their faith in Jesus Christ, would you help them to do that right now? We would pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. If you would say today, you know what Greg, I am not sure that I am ready for Christ's return. I don't know with confidence that I would go to heaven if I were to die today, but I want to be ready. I want to keep my appointment with God. Pray for me. If that is your desire, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to be ready for His return, or if you want to know with certainty that you will go to heaven when you die, wherever you are, I want you to stand to your feet right now. And I am going to lead you in a prayer.
I want you to stand to your feet, wherever you are, if you want Christ to come into your life. Just stand up. That's right. God bless you. Stand up. Stand up. Wherever you see me, wherever you hear me, stand to your feet right now. This is not about me seeing you. This is about you standing up and saying to God, I want to get right with you. I want to be ready for your return. I want to keep my appointment with you. Anybody else? Stand now. There at Harvest Orange County. Just stand to your feet outside of the amphitheater here There at Harvest Riverside, up in the court building. Stand to your feet and I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment.
There might be some of you that have made a commitment to Jesus but you have been living a compromised life. Maybe you are in a backslidden state. You want to recommit your life to Christ today. You stand as well. And I will lead you in this same prayer. You want to make that recommitment to Jesus. Stand up. Anybody else? God bless you. There are others standing by the way. You are not the only one. One final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand. God bless each one standing.
All right. All of you that are standing I want to lead you in this prayer. This is a prayer where you are asking God to forgive you of your sin. Again as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now. "Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But I believe you died on the cross for my sin. I am sorry for that sin now. I turn from it and I choose to follow you. Make me ready for your return. I want to walk with you until the day I stand before you. Thank you for calling me and forgiving me and accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen." Amen.